Brooke Shields initially opposed her 17-year-old daughter, Grier Hammond Henchy, entering the modeling industry due to its brutal nature, from unrealistic body expectations to invasive interviews. As a renowned child model-turned-actor, Shields fought against the idea for a long time, realizing that the industry has evolved since her own experiences.
The recent two-part Hulu documentary, Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields, shed light on the sexualization Shields endured from a young age. At just 10 years old, her mother, Teri Shields, permitted her to be photographed nude for Playboy, and at 12, she starred in the 1978 film Pretty Baby as a child sex worker. Given this, it’s easy to understand how Shields was hesitant as a mother to let her child enter the industry.
Eventually, Shields granted her daughter permission to pursue modeling, but not without laying down some ground rules. During an interview on Live with Kelly and Mark, per People, Shields explained, “It’s such a different industry now than it was… I finally had to give in and say, ‘If you’re going to do this, I’m not going to be your manager. You’re going to be with an agency. You’re going to have a great work ethic. It’s not going to be comfortable, and you’re going to listen to me.’”
Another stipulation? Grier has to enroll in college.
Grier aspires to venture into the runway category, a field that Shields never entered but understands to be harsh. Shields described it as brutal both on and off the stage, admitting that she wouldn’t have been able to handle it herself.
When Shields began her career, her mother Teri served as her manager, and their close bond protected her from external pressures. Reflecting on this, Shields shared, “It was probably how I could survive because you couldn’t get to me. She was such a mama bear and so protective. On the one hand, I was very naive, and on the other, I was just thrown into this crazy world.”
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In an earlier interview with The Times, Shields discussed her mother’s decisions regarding her career. She acknowledged the difficulty of explaining to her own daughters, Rowan, 20, and Grier, why their grandmother allowed projects that exposed her to sexualization. Shields expressed uncertainty about her mother’s reasoning, unable to provide a definitive answer.
While Shields acknowledges the complexities of her upbringing, she does not hold anger toward her late mother, who passed away in 2012. She explained, “Everyone wanted me to be angry with her, but anger was just too sad for me to take when I looked at how insecure she was.”
It seems like Shields has done a lot of reflecting since her younger modeling days and is in a good space to help her daughter navigate the industry in a safe and empowered manner.
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